Plans for a Simple Garden

Plants require certain conditions for healthy growth.

There are plants which do well in drought conditions and then there are a few plants which cannot survive direct sun. Some plants do well in acidic soil which some just wither away.

You need to understand which plants would best fit your yard in terms of space and adaptability before you start the actual planting.

The first step towards planning your garden is to take a hard look at what you have at your disposal. Your yard, the climate and the landscape structure.

Every yard is different and hence would pose a different challenge for your gardening venture. The issues which directly play a roles in several of your gardening decision would be

The type of soil in your yard

There are basically three types of soil

• Sandy
• Loam
• Clay

The soil can also categorized on the basis of the pH level as

• Acidic
• Alkaline

Clay soil tends to be the worst you can work with. It does not allow for water drainage, it gets all soaky and wet. Puddles are never good for your plants since they deprieve them of oxygen.

Loam soil is among best you can get. They are crumbly and dark. This type of soil would allow for water seepage and is porous.

Sandy soil comes somewhere in between. A good mix of sandy and loam soil would be perfect.

Your local climate

The climate in your area would affect your decision on which type of plants to grow. Certain vegetables grow only under certain climatic conditions as do flowers and fruits.

Is your climate damp or dry most of the time around the year?

Do you get a lot of sun or is it mostly cloudy?

How long does the frost last and how hot is it during summer?

These are some important questions you would need to answer to determine the type of plants that would be well suited for your garden. Unless you live in a desert chance are that you can grow plenty of plants, because more of them are quite hardy.

The plants which grow locally

You will find certain types of bushes, shrubs, flowers and fruit plants growing in your area or in your neighbor's lawn.

These plant which grow without extended care in your surroundings would provide a hint to the type of conditions that you are dealt with. They give an idea about the climatic conditions and the type of soil.

You don't need to grow these native plants in your garden though, the idea of course is to have a garden which look different from the surrounding.

The Given Conditions of Your Landscape

A few considerations which might creep in depending on the your present yard and landscape structure would be

The presence of trees

If your yard is already blessed with trees then you might need to consider pruning them or may be even cutting them off if are intrusive. If you can live with the tree it would be for the best. Pruning trees is a better option, most plants don't grow well in shade.

The fencing

You might look at building a living fence made out of bushes and shrubs or you may want to add it to your artificial fence. Whatever be the case, make sure you consult with

your neighbor on your ideas, it should not be against their wishes. After all good fencing makes for good neighbors.

Your pathway

If you pathway or walkway would be intruding as far as your gardening plans are concerned, then you would need to have them removed. A pathway which runs along the center of a lawn would look awkard.

You can have the present pathway remove and replace it with a gravel or flagstone pathway with can be built in a wandering fashion.

How Shade Does Your Garden Receive?

Whenever you start a garden from the scratch you are bound to run into the startup problems. The most common among them are

There is too much shade

The reason could be the presence of large trees or artificial structure like your fencing and the house itself. Few steps you can take to improve the conditions are as below

• You cannot help the artificial structure but with respect trees, you can prune them off.
• Cut off any dead braches or the ones which are extending far.
• You can do it yourself it the tree is small using a pruning saw. If it's a large tree you are better off calling in a qualified arborist company.
• You might even need to cut off trees in case they are intrusive and large, may sure you get the required permissions before attempting it. There are several regions which require authorized permission before cutting off a tree.

There is too little shade

If your yard is too sunny and get a lot of heat which is baking the soil dry and making your yard a water hogging monster, its time to add a few shady elements. You can consider doing the following

• Try an artificial tent or trampoline, the placement of the tent would dictate how much area can be shaded
• Place colorful long umbrellas to shade your new plants
• In the long term consider growing shady trees and vines along large trellis to provide you with natural shade.

There is more information in the article how to plan a garden, which you can read for more insights.

You could of course let caution fly to the wind and start planting without planning. If you are feeling lucky and if you have a casual garden in mind, you could just do that.